White, Miranda Provide Testimony on Legislation Supporting School Counselors

State Representatives Andrea White (R-Kettering) and Jessica Miranda (D-Forest Park) this week provided sponsor testimony on House Bill 333-legislation requiring the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) to create an official recommended job description for school counselors based on current ODE standards.

“Day in and day out, our school counselors are confronted by a myriad of challenges helping students and families,” said White. “These challenges revolve around not only the present, but also the future as students prepare for life after high school. House Bill 333 aligns counselor standards with a recommended job description to help recognize the importance of our counselors’ work addressing not only academics, but also career readiness and behavioral health needs of our students.”

In 2016, ODE created counselor standards reaching beyond academic requirements to also include career exploration, career awareness development, exploration, planning and social/emotional development. The bill’s recommended job description will create the guidance to school districts on what responsibilities our counselors should have to meet the state standards, while further maximizing their impact and fully utilizing their Masters-level training. White said.

The legislation is nearly identical to H.B. 367 from the 133rd General Assembly, which passed in the House with a vote of 76-10. H.B. 333 will have two minor additions:

• A 120-day deadline from the day the law would take effect to give ODE time to create the job description. 
• Asks ODE to designate at least one school counselor liaison within the department to facilitate easier communication between school counselors and ODE.  

White noted that, according to the Ohio School Counselor Association, Ohio is the only state without a dedicated school counselor liaison in its state education department. 

H.B. 333 has support from the Ohio School Counselor Association,  the Ohio Association for Counselor Education and Supervision and the Ohio Education Association.  The bill’s passage would add Ohio to a list with 11 other states with a clear job description for counselors.  

The bill awaits additional hearings in the House Primary and Secondary Education Committee.